Bank-vault



A. HINKENS.

BANK VAULT. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21, I915.

Patented July 29, 1919.

THE COLUMBIA PLANUGRAPH co WASHINGTON. n. c.

ift. BARS, BMHQ Piiliitillilllt AND RELATED DEVEQES.

ARNOLD HINKENS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BANK-VAiJ'LT.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 29, 1919.

Application filed February 21, 1918. Serial No. 218,536.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARNOLD HINKENs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Bank-Vaults, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to bank vault structures, and its object is toprovide a wall construction by which the vault is rendered completelyburglar-proof, and more particularly immune to being cut or pierced bythe flame of an oxy-acetylene or other torch emitting a flame ofintensely high temperature.

The object stated is attained by means of a novel combination andarrangement of reinforcing elements embedded in a concrete wall as willbe described in detail hereinafter, and in order that the invention maybe better understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawingforming a part of this specification.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a fragment of the wall, and

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the. reinforcement and armor.

Referring to the drawing 5 denotes the monolithic concrete wall of avault or similar burglar and fire-proof inclosure of a bank or otherinstitution. The drawing shows only a fragment of two adjacent walls asthis suflices for an understanding of the invention, it being understoodthat the structure of all the walls is the same. The wall has a metalreinforcement composed of longitudinal rods 6 embedded therein adjacenttg its faces, and vertically embedded rods 7. The wall is furtherreinforced by horizontally extending transverse rods 8.

In the wall 5 are also embedded semisteel plates 9 located midwaybetween the opposite faces of the wall and arranged in horizontalcourses, with the plates of one course breaking joint with the plates ofthe adjacent courses. The wall is therefore formed with a solid internalmetal armor throughout its entire area. The ends of the platesinterlock, they being formed with hooks 10 for this purpose. All theplates are cast with square holes 11 through which the transversereinforcing rods 8 pass.

The plates 9 are also reinforced by vertical rods 12 cast therein neartheir ends, the plates being here thickened, as shown at 13. The purposeof the rods is to reinforce the plates sufficiently to successfullywithstand warping from the blows of a sledge hammer or other heavyimpacting appliance.

By embedding the plates 9 in the concrete wall 5, the wall is renderedcompletely burglar-proof. It will be practically impossible to cut theplates with an oxy-acetylene torch or similar apparatus, even if oneside were exposed by removal of a portion of the concrete, as theopposite side would still be covered and would therefore not allow themolten metal to fall through. The plates can also not be broken with asledge hammer in View of the reinforcement 12. If the wall should be cutinto on one side, the reinforcements 6 and 7 on the other side will stopthe plates from being driven through the other side. It will be notedthat the holes in the plates through which the rods 8 pass are largerthan the latter, so that the concrete material fills the space in saidholes around the rods, whereby the plaltles are further securelyanchored in the wa On the faces of the plates 9 are anchoring lugs 13which are embedded in the concrete and act as a lock to strengthen thehold of the latter on the plates.

I claim:

A bank vault having a reinforced concrete wall, and metal platesembedded therein and arranged to form a solid internal burglar-proofarmor extending throughout the entire area thereof, said plates havinginterlocking ends, and being arranged in horizontal courses, with theplates of one course breaking joint with the plates of adjoiningcourses.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ARNOLD HINKENS.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0."

